From a fan...
Since first seeing her on Whos The Boss, Ive been a big Judith Light fan. I just wish she was on TV more and had been allowed to reprise her stage role of Vivian Bearing in Wit when the movie was made instead of Emma Thompson taking over, nothing against Ms. Thompson.
On February 10, 1989, I drove to LA from San Diego to attend a dress rehearsal taping of WTB. It was great to see her in person, from my seat in the audience, and also to see how the show was done. The episode was the one in which Angela and Tony went out on their first real date.
I was amazed how small the set was and I noted how chilly the studio was kept. Some in the audience complained about the cold, but, to me, it was obviously necessary to keep the cast comfortable under those bright, hot lights. The main set containing Angela Bowers living room, dining room and kitchen was in front of the audience bleachers, with additional sets to the right and behind. We watched scenes shot on those sets by viewing TV monitors suspended from the overhead.
The taping proceeded quickly with no bloopers. I was disappointed in that, bloopers can be great fun. I noticed many in the audience watching the monitors instead of looking at the live action. Here were world-class actors performing right in front of us and many people were watching it on the overhead monitors. Oh, Well.
During a pause between scenes, the audience warm-up guy came out and led us in a rendition of Happy Birthday to Judith. She turned 40 the day before and thats why I picked that day to go (she and I share the same birthday, although I'm a year older). Upon hearing us sing, she looked up at the audience, smiled, rolled her eyes and said, Oh, S%#t! It was so funny. Some were shocked to hear her, but what actress (or anyone) wants to be reminded she just turned 40?
Anyway, it was great fun. Driving out of LA on a Friday night back to San Diego was not.
Mike